About The Giving Tree of Boca Raton
Our Mission
Meeting One Need, One Life, One Day at a Time
in OUR LOCAL PALM BEACH COUNTY COMMUNITY
The Giving Tree of Temple Beth El provides children, young adults and seniors living in low-income situations, with clothing, essential personal items, school supplies, school uniforms and holiday gifts to help eliminate some of the many insecurities faced by this population on a daily basis.
Our organization
The Giving Tree of Temple Beth El is a 501 c3 that is 100% volunteer staffed. There are 4 Co-Chairs and hundreds of volunteers and donors
Our culture is to treat each recipient with the same kindness, dignity and respect we would our own family. When referral requests come our goal is a rapid response to provide what is needed. Our donors give without expectations of meeting or knowing more about a recipient beyond a first name and their request. We are fortunate to receive so many kind thank you messages from our recipients and are proud of our generous donors and corporate supporters, who give year after year.
The Giving Tree does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, sexual orientation, age, or disability.
Our Beginnings
In 1990, The Giving Tree started as a small social action group within Temple Beth El providing holiday gifts for a few local families in need. In the early years, Myra Singer, founding Chair, along with some friends, used her garage to sort and organize the holiday gift giving program.
With the support of Temple Beth El clergy, congregants and the community at large The Giving Tree’s Holiday Project, now serves close to 2000 recipients referred by over 20 local social service agencies in Palm Beach County. The expansion of this program evolved from outreach and connections with schools, caseworkers, community police officers, religious organizations and others serving local low-income and homeless populations.
Spreading cheer at the holiday and filling each child’s specific wish requests became a springboard to learning more about recipients’ needs that went well beyond the holiday gifts. Over the past 15 years, the Giving Tree has expanded into a year round project, operating 3 programs: The Holiday Project, The Back To School Project and The Quiet Giving Project. In 2016, The Giving Tree spun off a branch of Quiet Giving, Sweet Dreams, created through the efforts and leadership of former Giving Tree Co-Chair, Suzanne Broad, to Sweet Dream Makers, Inc., an independent non-profit 501c3.
